Extension or not, Clay Matthews is getting a raise

Posted by Josh Alper on February 18, 2013, 3:49 PM EDT

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With one year left on his rookie deal, Packers linebacker Clay Matthews could be in line for a contract extension this offseason.

Whether or not he gets it, he’ll be getting a raise for the 2013 season. Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Matthews has hit escalators in his rookie deal that will raise his salary from $1.492 million (up from $805,000 thanks to an earlier escalator) to $3.73 million. As a result, his cap number will also rise to $4.91 million.

That leaves Matthews with the eighth-highest salary on the team, a placement that doesn’t quite fit with his level of importance to the team’s defense. An extension would likely bring things more in line with reality, although it would be hard for him to land a bigger deal than the set to pay $9.75 million to quarterback Aaron Rodgers next season. There’s been extension chatter about Rodgers as well, so both players could see their numbers rise.

The Packers cleared out some extra cap space by excising Charles Woodson from the roster. One way or the other, Matthews is going to be soaking up some of it.

Thompson traded up into the first round to get him, and Matthews has been one of the few difference-makers on the defensive side of the team. So yeah, you don’t really need to be Nostradamus to see that he’s in line to become very wealthy.

People judge pass-rushers by their sacks, despite his recent sack decline mainly due to injuries he’s expanded his game overall. He does a much better job in pass protection and he’s very good against the run. Don’t let the sack numbers fool you – he’s an all-around guy now. He will come in next season jacked up and geared for a monster year and thus a monster extension, he won’t sign anything this offseason.

LOL @ all the football experts. Clay Matthews is EASILY one of the top 3 front 7 guys in the NFL today. The guy is insane, had 13 sacks last year and missed how many games? 3 more in 2 playoff games. Unless you watched every Packers game last year start to finish, then you have no idea how good he really was. So many geniuses on here who comment as if they could even explain the difference between Cover 2 and Cover 3, or even tell me the name of the position Clay plays.

Doesn’t she make enough money in those lame commercials? If she and her crybaby quarterback didn’t soak up so much money, maybe they could afford to pay a few more players and actually have a team that isn’t a one-hit wonder.

BJ Raji is way to overrated he’s had one huge game in his career, the Bears NFC Championship game doesn’t deserve to paid like Haloti Ngata I’d take that Henry Melton off the Bears roster in a heart beat over Raji.

He is a good player, but overrated. Look at his tackle numbers. Absolutely horrible. He is a solid pass rusher, but many offenses account for him and he disappeared for weeks at a time last year, and he stunk the year before. He deserves a mid level contract. His skills will decline quickly in about 3 years.

Sign A rod but please don’t overpay for Matthews. I like the guy but his impact on games have shrunk every year. He runs himself out of plays and gets master blasted but elite left tackles. I’m a packer fan but I think fans build him up to be a whole lot better than he really is.

He is a good player, but overrated. Look at his tackle numbers. Absolutely horrible. He is a solid pass rusher, but many offenses account for him and he disappeared for weeks at a time last year, and he stunk the year before. He deserves a mid level contract. His skills will decline quickly in about 3 years.

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The second somebody tries talking about tackle numbers for a 34 OLB is the same time they lose all credibility in the point they are trying to make. It truly is amazing how so many people comment with such a miniscule understanding of this game. I don’t go commenting on sci-fi talk do I ?